I have decided to join the blogging craze. I am looking forward to taking a moment to find out a little more about the plants I have been photographing. I hope to explore all aspects of plants, flowers, trees and other garden related topics. Sorry about having to watermark the photos but there are a lot of people using them without permission.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Red Bee Balm

Normally Bee Balm isn’t my favorite perennial but this year it has turned out nicely and is putting on quite a show. This variety gets tall (48 inches) and spreads rapidly (mint family) but it is easy enough to keep in check and doesn’t seem to need staking. You can pull out the spreading parts and replant them or chuck them.

The flower is really red and I never noticed the red bract like leaves that have preceded the flowers. They are almost as nice as the flowers themselves. ‘Jacob Cline’ can start looking a little ratty towards the end of the season and I often cut it down completely at that time. Same thing if it gets the powdery mildew. The cutting doesn’t seem to hurt it. It seems to grow in part shade also although it flowers less. This flower definitely attracts hummingbirds.

Here is a link to a Wikipedia article on Monarda . It has some interesting information on the uses of Bee Balm.

After a long absence I am doing Ruby Tuesday again this week. I just haven’t had the right shot at the right time. See more Ruby Tuesday at Work of the Poet.